


maybe together we can get somewhere

by petitegaynerd (embuffalo)



Category: Ocean's 8 (2018)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fix-It of Sorts, i was just trying to write some fluffy fix it fic but these two are a hot mess, oceans eight is a lesbian movie and everyone can fight me, this ended up being way angstier than i thought
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-27 02:26:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15014624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embuffalo/pseuds/petitegaynerd
Summary: Lou loves the ocean. Some people need the woods or the bright lights of a city, but Lou has always loved the ocean: the salt, the sun, the glitter of wind on water. But despite the freedom and the amazing barbeque she has found by driving the country, Lou knows it’s time to return home to her Ocean.





	maybe together we can get somewhere

Lou loved the ocean. Some people needed the woods or the bright lights of a city, but Lou had always loved the ocean: the salt, the sun, the glitter of wind on water. Lou had a wanderer’s soul, always looking for new territory to explore. But despite the freedom she found by driving up and down both coasts and in winding curves around the country, Lou knew it was time to return home to her Ocean. Driving away from the place and the person she called home proved fruitless, causing more sharp pangs in her heart than any sort of peace. She needed Debbie at her side. Debbie was Lou’s North Star, bringing her home no matter what, no matter where on earth her travels took her. 

Debbie was a city girl. She loved the bustle, the grime, the fact that there was always something going on. Something to steal, somewhere to be, someone to screw. Sometimes, though, Debbie liked the quiet. As she settled onto the marble bench opposite her brother’s grave, she could still hear cars whizzing by, but it wasn’t quite as loud as her Brooklyn loft. She went to Danny’s grave each day, always at 11 a.m. -- to honor him, or tease him, she wasn’t sure. The day was overcast, a little foggy, and Danny’s grave was cool to the touch. She pressed her hand against the smooth marble, tracing her fingers over the embossed gold of her brother’s name. 

“I miss Lou,” she told Danny. “I miss her smirk. I miss her bringing me breakfast and settling down to talk over a cup of coffee. I miss her warmth and just knowing where she is whenever we’re in a room together. She reminds me that I’m human, and God, I need something like that to keep me going. I’m getting bored without a job, Danny, and I want Lou back so we can do something new.”

Debbie rested her forehead against the white stone, hoping Danny would send her some kind of hope, or wisdom, or an idea for a job that was better than stealing six-thousand-dollar shoes from the nearest Nordstrom because she didn’t know what else to do. 

Debbie got nothing. Shoving her hands into the pockets of her trench coat, her heels clicked on the stone floor as she strode past the other graves. The rasp of dry leaves against stone echoed through the otherwise empty stone walkway.

When she reached her car, she slid into the driver’s seat, flinging her purse onto the seat. But it didn’t land on the seat. It landed on a pair of legs clad in a deep violet velvet that could only belong to one person.

“Miss me, darling?” Lou asked, settling Debbie’s Coach bag on the floor of the car.

“Shit, Lou, don’t do that,” Debbie replied, sighing. It was a statement, though, not an exclamation.

“Old habits die hard.” Lou paused, then teased Debbie, “You’re losing touch, dear. Not so long ago you would have had a knife against my ribs without looking at my face.”

Debbie let out a dry laugh. “A year ago I was still in prison. Now I’m just another bored, rich woman without a care in the world.” A gentle rain began to fall, smattering dark grey splotches on the smooth, worn headstones in the cemetery. Debbie grunted, starting to the car to turn on the windshield wipers. She muttered, “There’s nothing wrong with a simple life. It would be nice to not have to worry about death threats and backstabbers.”

Lou surveyed the graveyard as she propped her right foot on the dashboard, not meeting Debbie’s eyes. She quietly said, “I wouldn’t mind finding a place in the suburbs. Somewhere quiet and boring. A place where a couple of old folks like us can go and settle down.”

Debbie looked at Lou. There was a gentle set to her lips, a new smattering of freckles across her cheeks and forehead, and something Debbie couldn’t quite place in her cool blue gaze. “Tell me you’re serious,” Debbie said earnestly. “You’d better not be joking or I will beat your ass and you will never step foot into my house again.”

Revenge was not something Debbie took lightly. Seven years ago when Lou had turned downed Debbie’s proposal, Debbie had liquidized all five of Lou’s casinos. They had spent the following months in a careful dance of Debbie avoiding Lou as Lou tried to apologize. But Debbie’s stubbornness had led to recklessness, which led to five years in jail. Now Lou wasn’t sure where she stood in Debbie’s eyes. But she was damned if she wasn't going to make an effort to make things right.

Inhaling sharply, Lou said, “Darling, you say the word, and you’ll have it all. A house somewhere dull but luscious like the Berkshires or the Hamptons or, God forbid, the south of France. We’ll have a garden and a golden lab. I’ll become an accountant and we’ll drink coffee together while we wait for our kids to get on the school bus in the morning.” Debbie remained quiet. Lou continued, “I love you, Debbie. I’m sorry I’ve put this off for so long. I’m sorry I’ve never known how to tell you. I’ve always been afraid… honestly, I’m still afraid of getting it wrong. But there was this night on the road. I was at a bar. I got drunk. There was a girl who wanted me to go home with her.”

“There’s always a girl, isn’t there, Lou?” Debbie mocked.

Lou swallowed. “I was so close to going with her, Debbie. I was going to fuck her senseless and leave her heartbroken in the morning. But I couldn’t do that to her and more important, I couldn’t do that to you. That minute, in the middle of fucking Idaho, I turned around and drove back here because I knew in that moment that I needed to spend the rest of my life at your side. I’ve done so much dumb shit to you, and I’m sorry, and I don’t know if you’ll ever forgive me. If you don’t, or won’t, or can’t, I’ll leave, and you’ll never hear from me or about me ever again. But if you ever do decide you can forgive me, then I’m yours. I’m yours forever.”

Debbie’s deep brown eyes welled with tears as Lou spoke. “God, Lou,” she choked out. “I couldn’t possibly live without you. Yeah, you’ve done some shit, but it’s not like I haven’t done the same. Maybe those wounds will never fully heal, but we’ve gotta start acting like adults sometime soon. Our life, our relationship, has never been perfect and it may never be perfect but we’ve stayed steady for over twenty years. So we’ll get a good therapist in the Hamptons -- the Hamptons, yeah? -- and I’ll wear really big hats when I garden and we’ll teach our kids to steal.”

Lou leaned over and gently kissed Debbie. It was a promise, tender and assertive. “Take me home, Debbie,” Lou whispered. “Let’s do something new.”

**Author's Note:**

> @totalitylesbian on tumblr suggested that i rewrite the ending of the movie. i was going to write a cute, smooch-filled fix it fic but then i put tracy chapman's "fast car" on repeat and this came out super angsty. i could continue this story if there's interest but i'm thinking about writing some fluffy AU fic next. lmk what kind of fic you'd like to see in the comments or message me on tumblr @petitegaynerd!


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